Open To The Public?
by rainbow-washed-greyscale
Summary: Rose and the 9th Doctor are in Cardiff to recharge the TARDIS. Two tourists discover them, and refuse to leave them alone! Originally going to be a one-shot, then a two-shot, it's just going to be however many chapters as necessary. AU!
1. Chapter 1

**Open to the Public?**

"Alright, Doctor, when are we now?" a blonde woman, about 20 years old, addressed the figure at the TARDIS's controls.

"1980, I think. We're running out of power unfortunately. We'll have to stay the night here. These clothes won't do." The Doctor regarded his leather jacket, dark green jumper, black pants, and combat boots. "Neither will those, Rose. Go change."

"Oh, it won't matter that much. We won't be here that long." Rose retorted.

--- --- --- --- ---

A 13 year old girl and a boy of about 19 found themselves in downtown Cardiff. Katie and Oliver Lowell were outfitted with cameras and curiosity. Katie looked around excitedly. Noticing something odd, she elbowed her brother. "What's that, Ollie?" She gestured towards a dark blue box, rather similar to a phone booth.

"It's a police box." Katie's elder brother replied. "Mum was telling me about them. And don't call me Ollie!"

"I'll call you Ollie if I want to! What's it for?" Katie wriggled free of her brother's grip on her hand and ran towards the box.

Chasing after his sister, Oliver finally caught up to Katie, and took hold of her sleeve. She came to a jerky stop, and glared at her brother. "I only wanted to see it. I wasn't going to get into trouble."

"Sure you weren't. We can come back and look at it later." Oliver dragged the reluctant Katie away from the police box and towards a strip of cafés and knickknack shops.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Rose, listen. I'm about 45 times your age, and I've been time travelling for a lot longer than you have. Go and change. Now." The Doctor didn't usually have a short temper, and he didn't fancy hanging around earth for long. Unfortunately, the TARDIS was nearly out of power, and Cardiff was the quickest rift to get to.

"Fine. But I get to show you around town." Rose gave in as she walked down a hallway.

The Doctor sighed, knowing that it was the only way to get her to dress appropriately, but winced when she came back. Rose had returned wearing colors so bright they almost glowed.

"Ready? Wait, I thought you were going to change." Rose looked confused.

"Right." The Doctor disappeared into the same hallway where Rose had gotten her clothing, and came back wearing nearly what he always wore, but with a patterned red jumper.

"Such a difference." Rose's commented sarcastically. "Let's go."

--- --- --- --- ---

"Oliver, this is boring. I want to go back and look at the police box." Oliver had pulled his sister into a souvenir shop, where he had wandered over to the card, all bearing the name of the city in various fonts and colors.

"Hold on a moment, Katie. Let me buy these," He held up a thin deck of cards. "Then we'll go eat lunch, and then we can go back and look at your silly box, if you insist."

All through their meal, Katie fidgeted in her seat. As soon as they exited the small restaurant, Katie took off. She nearly flew back to the police box, Oliver trying to control her, but failing miserably.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Rose, you look ridiculous. Pick something a little less… vibrant…" The Doctor had to shield his eyes from the day-glo pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, and purples of her outfit.

"Why? I think this looks fantastic!" Rose found a mirror and admired her outfit.

"Oh, come on, Rose. Humor me. Go an-" The Doctor's request was cut off by a sudden thudding sound from outside.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Katie, get away from it. You don't know whose this is or what it does." Oliver was trying desperately to pull his sister away from the doors of the box.

"Come on, Ollie! Help me open it! I want to look inside!" Katie's excitement was easily heard in her voice. Noticing a phone on one side, she abandoned her frantic attempts to open the doors.

"Hello? Hello? Operator? Yes, I'd like to speak to the Queen please. Right awa- Hey!" Oliver took the phone from his sister and placed it back on the hook.

--- --- --- --- ---

"The hell was that?" Rose instantly forgot about her clothing dilemma. "Trouble?"

"Trouble." The Doctor answered his companion's query as a grin spread across his face. "Fantastic."

"Let's go have a look, then!" Rose ran towards the door of the TARDIS, nearly beating the Time Lord.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Katie, come on. We're going. We don't want to get in trouble!" Oliver's attempts to get Katie to listen to him completely failed. Before he could yell again, the doors opened, and a man with large ears, a large nose, and a beaten-up leather jacket stepped out.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oy!" he yelled, spotting Katie ducking around the side of the blue box. "Get away from there!"

"Who get away from where?" A blonde woman clad in neon colors had followed the large-eared man out of the box.

"Who are you two?" Oliver was stunned at the pair's emergence. "What were you doing in a police box?"

"I'm Rose, and that's the Doctor. It's his box. You can ask him about it." Rose answered Oliver's blunt question with a blunt answer.

While she spoke, Oliver couldn't help noticing just how pretty Rose was, even if she did seem a bit unusual. It's not every day a girl, a beautiful, friendly, lovely girl like Rose stepped out of a mysterious box in the middle of Cardiff. He found himself drawn to her subconsciously. She was just… just… fantastic.

"Ollie!" Katie charged towards her brother, nearly knocking him over as she latched onto his side, half hiding behind him. Oliver couldn't help a feeling of annoyance seep through him at his sister breaking through his Rose-induced stupor.

The Doctor had walked around the TARDIS, following Katie as she ran from him. "Alright. See here. This is my box. Not yours," he pointed to Oliver, "and not yours," he pointed to Katie, "Hers," gesturing to Rose, "and mine. Not yours."

Rose was taken aback that the Doctor had included her in the possession of the TARDIS. She had never once ventured to claim the TARDIS as hers in any way, shape, or form. An odd, tingly sensation of happiness mixed with something else, something she couldn't identify, filled her.

"What do you kids want, anyway?" Rose inadvertently stepped towards the Doctor, not realizing she'd moved until the faint scent of leather reached her nose. It must've been the Doctor's jacket.

"We're not kids. I'm 19!" Oliver informed her indignantly, his high opinion of her losing a tinge of altitude.

"I'm not a kid either!" Katie cut in. "We just wanted to peek inside the box! It looks so cool!" She made a tiny step forward.

As she spoke, the Doctor produced a key from the depths of a pocket, turned around, and locked the TARDIS door. Katie frowned and crossed her arms.

"Sorry, but you're not getting inside. We've got far too much to do to be giving tours." The Doctor's apology wasn't the least bit sincere. He grabbed Rose by the elbow and began towing her away.

"Yeah, sorry! Nice meeting you!" Rose yelled over her shoulder. She made no move to free her arm from the Doctor's grasp. In fact, her spirits fell a bit when he dropped her arm after a minute. She turned to the Doctor. "Alright, sourpuss, what do you want to do now? We can't go back to the TARDlS until those kids disappear."

"I wasn't being sour! I just didn't like the way that foolish boy was looking at you." The Doctor didn't look at Rose while he spoke.

"Are you saying all humans are foolish? You do remember that I'm not an amazing, all-powerful, high-and-mighty Time Lord, don't you?" Rose stopped walking while as spoke. Her arms hung at her sides, her hands clenched into fists. Her face flushed.

--- --- --- --- ---

"What do we do now?" Katie was only a tiny bit rattled by the confrontation with the strange, large-eared Doctor.

"Hmm?" Oliver hadn't been paying much attention to his sister, as he had been staring after Rose.

"Ollie! I'm talking to you!" Seeing where he was looking, she suppressed a laugh. "She'd never go for you."

"And why not? She looked about my age. What's so awful about me that she wouldn't give me a second glance?" His indignant tone didn't quite disguise the note of hurt coloring his voice.

Katie only sighed in response.

--- --- --- --- ---

An unexpected pang of guilt hit the Doctor. He hadn't meant to upset her, and now she looked as if she might either cry or bash his head in, possibly both. Walking back to her, he enveloped her in his arms. Rose stiffened, her fists still hanging by her sides. Soon, though, she relaxed her hands, hugged him back, and the pair went on their way.

"So what do you want to do?" Rose asked the Doctor with a smile.

"We could get something to eat. You must be starved." The Doctor placed an arm around her shoulders in a walking hug sort of gesture. "You've never been to this year, though. How about I show you around?"

"Fine, but pick something good," Rose conceded, taking hold of the Doctors hand hanging near her shoulder. A grin spread across both their faces as they headed towards a group of cafés. The same strip of cafés, coincidentally, that Oliver and Katie had visited earlier that same day.

--- --- --- --- ---

"It's ok, Ollie, It's not like it's the first time a pretty girl has ignored you." Katie's not-so-sympathetic statement earned her a half-hearted buffet on the shoulder.

"You're kind. How would you know how many girls have rejected me? You're only 10." Oliver had seen the Doctor and Rose's hug, and had taken it badly.

"I'm not 10! I can't believe you don't know how old your own sister is! I'm 13! Forget her; she's not coming back." Katie was unusually harsh for someone her age. "I wonder where I can find a lock-picking kit…"


	3. Chapter 3

"We're not picking the lock on the box. Let's just go." Oliver reached for his sister's arm, but she pulled away.

"You don't have to help, but I want to look inside. There's something special about this thing, whatever it is." Katie spoke first to Oliver, but then more quietly, as if thinking aloud.

"Katie, leave it. It's just a weird wooden box belonging to weird grumpy man and his weird, albeit pretty, friend. That's too much weird for me. Besides, we said we'd meet Daniel and Hannah later." Oliver was getting impatient.

"Pssh. We can leave them to their own devices. They only invited us up here to be polite. You just know that once we leave them, they'll go back to couple-land." Katie's voice held a tone suggesting contempt for Hannah and Daniel's apparently sickening happiness.

"What do you know? You're only 10! And it doesn't matter whether they'll go back in couple-land, or even if they talk to us the whole time we're there! We said we'd go, and we're going!" At that, Oliver took firm hold of Katie's hand, and dragged her away.

--- --- --- --- ---

"What sounds good for lunch?" Rose asked the Doctor over the top of a menu. They sat across from each other at some gruesomely adorable café.

"I'm not that hungry," The Doctor answered with a smile. "You go ahead and order." Reaching into a pocket, he withdrew a strange, pen-shaped object, and aimed it at the model kitten sitting in the middle of their table, its small, ceramic tongue outstretched to lick a small, ceramic paw. Pressing a button on the Sonic Screwdriver, it emitted a _vwrrrr_-ing sound, and glowed a bright blue. To Rose's shock, the kitten began to move.

"What did you do to it?!" Rose's attempt to remain calm was broken. She watched, fascinated, as the formerly inanimate feline began to stumble around the tabletop.

"You looked down. Like him?" The Doctor's grin spread from ear to ear, and Rose fought her emerging smile.

"Very much," she said with a laugh. She gave up her mopiness and pulled her hair out of its neon ribbon. Tying one end in a knot, she began to drag it along the surface of the table for her new pet to chase.

"Hold on a moment," The Doctor reached across the table, scooped up the small creature, and with a _vwrrrr_ of the Sonic Screwdriver, turned it back to clay.

"What'd you do that for?" Rose's smile disappeared, and she crossed her arms across her chest. Just then, a waitress wearing an impossibly short skirt with an equally impossibly tight polo trotted to their table.

"What can I get for you today?" She asked, aiming a flirtatious smile towards the Doctor. He didn't seem to notice, much to Rose's satisfaction.

"Grilled ham and cheese for me. And a cup of tea. Rose, dear, what'd you like?" The Doctor didn't look up at the waitress as he placed his order.

Rose smiled at the waitress' obvious chagrin. "I'll have the same." Turning to the waitress, she ordered with a self-satisfied smile.

"Fantastic." The waitress had lost all of her bubbliness, and nearly ripped the menus from Rose's outstretched hand.

"Oh, one more thing," The Doctor tapped the waitress on the shoulder as she turned to go. "How much for this adorable ceramic cat? My Rose here has taken a liking to him."

"They're not for sale." The waitress stated coldly.

"Not even for this much?" The Doctor asked, innocently, as he slipped a few folded bills into her limp hand.

"He's yours." The waitress hurried away before this strange man could change his mind. The Doctor laughed, and made the kitten animate once again.

"You've thoroughly confused the poor girl, Doctor. You shouldn't do that to people." Rose's reprimand was softened with a laugh. "And since when am I "Your Rose?" She feigned huffiness, but deep down, she was delighted. Reaching across the table, she scooped the furry ball from the Doctor's palm.

"I think I'll name you Mickey," Rose told her mewing charge.

"You're naming your cat after your _boyfriend_?" The Doctor asked in confusion, but with good humor.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Rose replied with a smile. Mickey had curled up and nestled himself in Rose's teacup.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Katie! Oliver! Over here!" Hannah stood up and waved through the window of their restaurant. Daniel sat next to her recently vacated chair, a small smile playing around his lips.

"Hannah, sit down. They know where we are." He told his girlfriend, ruffling her short, sandy colored hair. She smiled, and mussed up his equally short, dark brown hair. They continued to give each other bad hair days until Katie and Oliver walked through the door.

"Hey guys. Sorry we're late." Oliver explained sheepishly. "Katie got distracted." He elbowed his sister gently.

"Yeah, it's my fault. I just wanted to see what was inside the box!" Katie's defensive reply sparked Daniel's interest.

"Box? What box?" He asked the younger girl, a keen interest in his voice.

"I'll show you!" She said, attempting to make a break for the door.

"No you won't!" Oliver's grip remained firm on her elbow, and he plunked her into the chair next to Hannah.

"Explain it to me then." Daniel pulled a composition book from a small pack resting beside him. It was battered with use, and had a pen duct-taped to the cover. He pulled the pen off, and flipped through the book until he found a blank page.

"It looked like a phone box, but without windows. Navy blue. He said his name's 'The Doctor,' or something like that." Katie began to jabber animatedly while Daniel took notes furiously.

Once Katie's flood of words subsided, she leaned over to see what Daniel had written. Hannah, too, leaned over, nearly falling out of her chair. Oliver stood up and walked around the table.

"I know who this is." Daniel whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

"You do?!" Katie jumped up and down with excitement, accidentally landing on Hannah's foot.

"Ouch! Katie! Watch where you're jumping!" Hannah scolded, wincing. She tilted her chair back to examine her injury. Obviously deciding minimal harm had been done, she sat half cross-legged, the offended foot resting in her lap.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to!" Katie apologized quickly, then turned back to Daniel. "Who is he? Tell me!"

Daniel's reply was muffled by a clatter, followed by a string of muttered curses. Hannah lay sprawled on the floor, still clutching her foot with one hand, the other clasped to the back of her head. Oliver burst out laughing.

"Did- did- you just fall out of your chair?!" He struggled to ask.

"No," Hannah grunted in response, glaring at her inquirer, "My chair tipped backwards."

"It did? Are you alright? Want me to get you ice? Does your head hurt? Are you dizzy? Is anything broken?" Daniel's notebook went flying as he dove to the ground to check on Hannah. His string of questions came out more as one indistinguishable word, rather than individual phrases. Scooping his girlfriend up into a something resembling a hug, he planted kiss on her forehead.

"No, I'm fine. Really. Dan, don't worry. You've known me long enough to know that I'm incredibly accident prone." Hannah explained, though a blush colored her face up to her shaggy hairline.

"That's such an understatement. You've got possibly the worst coordination of anyone I've ever known." Katie scoffed, clearly anxious to get back to her conversation with Daniel. "Come on, Daniel!"

She picked his notebook up off the floor where it lay open to a random page. Closing it, she set it on the table, and went to set Hannah's chair back upright as Daniel helped his oh-so-clumsy love to her feet. They were smiling at each other.

"I'll go get her something to drink." Oliver offered helpfully. "What do you want?"

"Don't get her coffee." Daniel advised. "I wouldn't refuse some, however."

"No, coffee sounds good." came Hannah's contradiction.

"Me too! I want coffee too!" Katie piped up.

"Three coffees, then, and one apple juice." Oliver recited the order, looked pointedly at Katie, then walked over to the counter.

"I don't get why he won't let me drink coffee. I like it." Katie slumped into her chair, looking disgruntled.

Daniel had managed to get Hannah securely back into her now upright chair, and returned to his conversation with Katie.

--- --- --- --- ---

"So what'd you think of lunch?" Rose asked the Doctor. They had exited the detestably sweet restaurant, and headed back towards the TARDIS.

After thinking for a moment, he answered, "Good food, overly pleasant atmosphere."

"Exactly what I was thinking. What do we do now? The TARDIS won't be ready to go until tomorrow." Rose leaned against the Doctor's leather-clad shoulder as they walked.

"I thought you were going to be my 'official guide to Cardiff,' or something like that." The Doctor teased, "Come on. We've got time. Let's go." With that, he grabbed the hand of a stunned Rose and towed her off towards the center of town.

--- --- --- --- ---

Taking the mug handed to her, Hannah blew on it gently. Daniel accepted his and took a large drink, disregarding the temperature. Katie plunked her bottle of apple juice angrily down on the tabletop. Oliver remained standing, but set his mug on the table.

"Anyone fancy milk or sugar?" The question was addressed to the table as a whole, excluding Katie.

Hannah looked up and nodded. "I'll take some," she requested, handing over her mug, "Could you dump half of this out and fill the rest with milk?"

"That sounds disgusting," Katie mumbled under her breath.

Oliver nudged his sister with a knee, and accepted Hannah's mug. "Dan? Milk or sugar?"

"Black's fine for me," came Daniel's reply. Picking up his notebook, he flipped through until he found the page containing Katie's description of the Doctor.

"Here's what we've got so far," Daniel recited, more to himself than to anyone else, "He's a strange man who calls himself 'The Doctor.' He has a blue phone box-type-thing. Anything else?"

Oliver returned to the table just as Daniel finished listing. "That sounds like everything," he answered the question, setting Hannah's milk-and-coffee mixture in front of her.

"Not quite!" Katie perked up suddenly, and sent a mischievous smile towards her brother. "Ollie forgot to mention _Rose_."

"Rose?" Daniel clarified, "Her last name isn't Tyler, is it? What'd she look like?"

A dreamy look entered Oliver's eyes as he began his description, "Blonde, about my age, incredibly bright clothes. Overall, simply spectacul- hey!" Katie had caringly kicked him under the table.

"Rather like this?" Daniel rifled through his notebook until he found the page he was looking for. He held the notebook up and turned it so Oliver and Katie could see. At the top of the page, the word 'Torchwood' was emblazoned in inch-high lettering. Two photos were taped below the large title.

"That's them! That's them!" Katie's chair clattered the floor as she jumped to her feet, pointing at the photographs. Her joy was short-lived, however. Once she saw the look on Daniel's face, Katie picked up her chair and sat back down, an unspoken question on her face.

"Torchwood has been looking for the Doctor since its founding. Rose Tyler was only added to the want list a few months before I quit. Katie, listen to me. If you know anything else, you need to tell me." Daniel gripped Katie's wrist firmly, holding her gaze.

"I know where his box is." Katie whispered. Her excitement was now completely gone, replaced with a sense of trepidation and, to her astonishment, fear.


	5. Chapter 5

"Here we are! Stardust Amusements!" The Doctor announced.

He and Rose stood at the entrance of an amusement park. It felt familiar to Rose, but she couldn't place the feeling. She broke the temporary silence with a question, "What does this have to do with anything? Doctor, why are we h-"

Rose's sentence was cut off by a shrill shriek. Looking around, she barely managed to register the source of the sound before she was enveloped in a fierce hug.

"Rose! Oh, my Rose! How are you, darling? How's this Doctor been treating you? Have you been having fun? Not gotten into too much trouble, have you? Do I have to smack him around a bit?" Jackie Tyler was notorious for her ability to run off at the mouth, and the sight of her daughter gave her more energy than usual.

"Mum, I'm fine. We've been having a great time. Not too much trouble, don't worry. Don't go smacking him. What are you doing-" Rose's words died off as her attention was caught by the sight of someone standing behind her mother. It was Mickey. Her Mickey. Human Mickey. Boyfriend Mickey. Left-behind Mickey.

Detaching herself from her mother, Rose cautiously approached him. She was about to speak, but his abrupt hug silenced her. Things had changed, though. The hug was quick and rather awkward, and Mickey didn't dare to speak until he let go of Rose.

"Hey," he said simply, staring at his shoes.

"Hey. How've you been?" Rose asked, just as shyly.

"Fine, and you? That Doctor been treating you good?" Now Mickey looked her in the eye, searching for the truth.

"We've been fine. Busy. No rest for the wicked, eh?" Rose attempted a small smile, which Mickey returned halfheartedly. He didn't like her use of the word "we." It made him slightly uneasy. Since when were Rose and the Doctor a "we?"

A soft mewing emanated from Rose's jacket pocket. Mickey looked vaguely suspicious, but his stony expression melted a bit when Rose withdrew a ball of fur.

"Mickey, meet Mickey." The kitten sat up in Rose's outstretched hands, and Mickey (human) scooped up Mickey (cat), and looked into its small, shockingly green eyes.

Jackie had moved to stand next to the Doctor, both of them watching Rose and Mickey.

"You gave her a cat?" Jackie hissed in the Doctor's ear. She didn't sound angry, exactly, but what she was feeling, the Doctor wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"She was getting lonely. I can't give her the kind of companionship you or Mickey-the-Idiot could, so I gave her the next best thing." The Doctor answered Jackie's question quietly, but he didn't take his eyes off Rose.

Looking down into the face of his fuzzy counterpart, Mickey adopted a jokingly stern voice. "You take care of Rose, here, alright? I don't want no harm comin' to her. Got that? You're not too small to make a furry hat out of."

Feigning horror, Rose snatched Mickey (cat) away, slipping him back into her pocket. She couldn't hide, however, the small giggle that escaped her lips at Mickey (human)'s comments.

"But a _cat_? Couldn't you have picked something a little less… furry?" Jackie's voice contained clear irritation, but she was slightly relieved to know that her daughter and this infuriatingly calm, infuriatingly _different_ Doctor weren't anything more than friends. At least, that's the way things seemed.

Having heard the previous comments, Rose looked over towards where the Doctor and her mother stood. She gestured to Mickey to follow her over, and he did, remaining a few paces behind.

"What's his name, then?" Jackie gestured to the tail still poking out of Rose's jacket pocket.

"She named 'im after me. Kinda sweet, but a bit weird, yeah?" Mickey mumbled.

"So you named him 'Useless Prat?'" Jackie guessed, and then laughed at her own joke.

"His name's Mickey," the Doctor corrected. "Ready to go?"

"Go where?" Rose asked, her face clouding with confusion.

"The amusement park. That's why I brought you here! I called your mum and worked everything out. She called Mickey, and arranged to meet you here." The Doctor's voice was cheerful, but Rose was suspicious.

"And where are you going, Doctor? You're not exactly the fun-and-games type, if you don't mind my saying so." Rose stared at the Doctor's carefully inexpressive face, searching for an answer.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just going to pop back to the TARDlS. A few minor repairs to take care of. Very boring. You three go off and have fun. I'll meet you back here in a few hours, alright? Toodeloo!" With that, the Doctor waved, spun on his heel, and strode away.

Rose stared after the quickly shrinking, leather-clad back until Jackie and Mickey towed her inside.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor felt slightly guilty for lying to Rose, but he needed to sort things out with those kids. He couldn't have people running about asking questions about him.

Arriving back at the TARDIS, he aimed his well loved tool, the sonic screwdriver, at the navy front doors. The strange vwrr-ing sound it emitted didn't attract more attention than just a fleeting glance from any of the passers-by.

--- --- --- --- ---

Katie squeaked in muted surprise as Daniel abruptly grabbed her wrist and towed her towards the door. Hannah stood up quickly and followed, managing not to fall on her face. Oliver was on Hannah's sneaker-clad heels, yelling after Daniel and his sister.

"We need to pay! We can't just leave!" He dashed back through the door, left a few pounds on the table and ran to catch up with the other three.

"So where is it, then? Katie? Where'd you see it?" Daniel was excited, but his anxious attitude hadn't yet disappeared.

"Over… over this way," Oliver answered, panting from running after his friends, and gestured back towards the center of the square. They hadn't bothered to wait for him while he prevented thievery.

Daniel looked to Katie for confirmation, and after her nod, marched off, still towing her by the wrist.

--- --- --- --- ---

Finished with his examination of the TARDIS, the Doctor continued to fiddle with the sonic screwdriver. After finding the setting he needed, he held the device out in front of him, and began to follow its erratic bleeps. He had been following a meandering path for a while when he noticed a familiar face running out of a café.

_"That's one of them. Oliver, I think his name was. What's he up to?_ He tucked the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket, and began to inconspicuously follow the teenager.

--- --- --- --- ---

Hannah was about to chase after her slightly crazed boyfriend, and managed to take a step forward before greeting the pavement face-to-face. Slightly confused, she moved to a sitting position to examine the purpose of her fall. It wasn't unusual for her to trip over nothing, but she looked around anyway.

"_Damn shoelaces,"_ she thought to herself, reaching down to retie her right shoe. _"I'm always tripping over them. I really ought to tie them tighter. Or not wear tennies as often."_

Finished tying, she began to struggle to her feet. An outstretched hand entered her field of vision. Without thinking, Hannah accepted the hand, and was hoisted to her feet. Her meager balance not yet reclaimed, she toppled forward into the arms of her assistor. She looked up into his face, a blush creeping into her cheeks, and smiled embarrassedly. His gentle face seemed vaguely familiar, but Hannah didn't think she'd met him before. She was certain she'd remember those ears.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Mum, how'd you get here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but aren't you worried about running into yourself?" Rose knew the Doctor was behind this, he'd pretty much said so, but she couldn't piece together how he'd done it. She'd been with him the whole time.

"You're quite a heavy sleeper," Mickey commented with a small smile, "You didn't even notice us. Well, you didn't notice _me_. This one," he hitched a thumb at Jackie, "couldn't leave well enough alone."

"Oy! Watch it!" Jackie exclaimed, whacking Mickey across the back of his head. "At least I don't moon around with my girlfriend's mother all day, whining about how much I miss her."

Rose giggled, and glanced over to see Mickey turning his collar up to hide his embarrassment.

"I accidentally woke you up once. I just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing, you know. I tried being quiet, I really did, but there's so much stuff lying about your room, and I fell over things you left on the floor. You really ought to do something about that. Anyway, you sort of woke up and saw me. You said my name a couple of times, kind of confused, I think. But once you started talking to me, I just couldn't leave, could I? Leave you sitting there all by yourself with no one to explain things…" Jackie explained, sounding more like she was talking to herself than to anyone else.

"Oh, I remember that, sort of. I tried telling the Doctor about it, and he said it was just a dream. He said I must be homesick," Rose replied, her voice quiet. Jackie quickly enveloped her in another rib-cracking hug.

"I've missed you too, love," Jackie mumbled, and with a nod to Mickey, added, "We all have," Jackie's tacked on phrase made Mickey tug his collar up higher.

"A'right, enough with lovey-dovey stuff. Who knows when that Doctor'll come back for 'er," Mickey commented gruffly, still lurking behind his collar.

"Yeah, let's go! I don't want to waste time!" Rose agreed excitedly. She followed Mickey through the amusement center front doors, Jackie's arm wrapped around her. No matter how hard she tried, however, Rose couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't have let the Doctor walk off by himself. She glanced over her shoulder hopefully one last time, but saw nothing of consequence as she was towed through the doors.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Hannah mumbled as she fought for balance, a daily battle.

"Don't worry about it. You alright, miss?" A slight chuckle was detectable underlying the question.

"Fine, fine. I've got the grace of a giraffe on stilts… Hold on, that doesn't make much sense… Oh well..." she mumbled. "I'm Hannah, by the way, Hannah Kepler."

"Alright then, Hannah Kepler, I'm the Doctor," he extended a hand, which Hannah shook, a funny expression creeping across her face.

"Nice to meet- OH!" Hannah interrupted herself as the realization hit. This was _the_ Doctor! The one in the notebook! The one whose blue box, at this very moment, Daniel might be scrutinizing!

"I'm sorry," Hannah dropped the Doctor's hand, "I've got to go. I've late for, um, this thing, and I'm meeting these guys…" Her excuses were feeble, but the Doctor didn't question them. She started to stride off in the direction Daniel, Oliver, and Katie had gone. The Doctor followed, keeping about thirty feet behind her.

It wasn't hard to spot her friends as she approached the center of the square. Daniel was walking slowly around the large box. Katie and Oliver stood about twenty feet away, watching as their friend paced.

"Oy!" The Doctor ran towards Daniel, stopping to stand between him and the TARDIS. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Excuse me, sir, but I know what I'm doing. This is a highly dangerous piece of machinery. If you could just step away…" Without looking up, Daniel moved to try to get around the Doctor, but the Doctor moved with him, not letting him get so much as an inch closer.

"Actually, you don't. The TARDIS isn't dangerous. Well, not that dangerous. Well, kind of dangerous. Sometimes. But only if you're not me. Who are you, anyway, to think you know what you're doing?" The Doctor placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder, forcing him to look into his face. Daniel's eyes grew to the size of baseballs as he recognized the Doctor's large nose, elephantine ears, and closely cropped, slightly receding brown hair.

"You're… you're… you're…" Daniel stuttered. He gestured to Katie, who trotted up warily and handed him the notebook. Flipping through pages, he stopped when he found the page with the Doctor's and Rose's pictures taped to it, and brandished it.

"You're Torchwood, then?" The Doctor took his hand off Daniel's shoulder, and took a step back.

"Used to be." Daniel was trying his best to be nonchalant, but failing slightly. He was clearly still a bit nervous, but he reached into his pocket, pulled out a battered, duct tape-repaired wallet, and flipped open his ID.

"Quit or fired?" The Doctor asked with a strange tone in his voice. He clearly didn't trust Daniel, but he didn't outright dislike him.

"Quit. Where's Rose?" Daniel was still doing the best he could to keep calm, but his science-geek-ness was dying to befriend the Doctor and get him to show him the inside of the TARDIS.

"Visiting her mum and boyfriend," The Doctor answered flatly.

"Boyfriend?!" Oliver exclaimed, clearly upset.

"Sorry, mate," Hannah patted her friend on the shoulder, causing him to jump. She had lurked up behind him without his noticing. Katie strode up to the Doctor and looked up at him.

"So are you going to give us a look inside or what?" She asked.

"Nope," The Doctor replied with a smile. "You kids just run along and play now. I'm going to pick up Rose, and we'll be on our way. Just forget all about us, alright?"

"Don't think so," Katie planted herself squarely in front of the two navy doors and gripped either edge.

"Katie's right," Daniel moved to stand next to Katie, but he never looked away from the Doctor.

"No, she's not, Dan. Katie," Oliver's voice contained a hint of trepidation, "Just let him go. It doesn't matter," He stepped forward and gently grasped his sister's elbow. She pulled out of his grasp and threw him with a meaningful glance, but he just took hold of her again and tugged at her sleeve.

"Olly!" Katie wheedled, "You never let me do anything! C'mon! Don't you want to see what's in here?"

"Well, yeah," Oliver shrugged, "but that doesn't mean we'll get to find out."

"Good boy. Exactly. Learning to live with disappointment and all that, eh?" The Doctor smiled widely, and moved to unlock the TARDIS, but Katie and Daniel still blocked his way.

"Move one more step and I'll report you," Daniel, who wasn't a very threatening person at the best of times, feebly warned.

"To who? Torchwood won't believe you, seeing as you've quit," The Doctor scoffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Jack will," Daniel stated calmly, and a small smile found its way onto his lips as he registered the look on the Doctor's face.

--- --- --- --- ---

_Author's Note: I realize the story might be getting a wee bit confusing with all the characters I've included so far. I apologize profusely. I'm doing my best to keep things as straightforward as possible, so bear with me. Things will clear up in the next few chapters. Thanks for reading! –RWG_


	8. Chapter 8

As hard as she was trying, Rose just wasn't having any fun. Yes, she laughed when Mickey fell off a plastic motorbike game, and kissed him on the cheek when he won a little stuffed duck for her. She listened politely to her mum's stories about her "girlfriends," but her mind kept wandering.

"Rose? Darling, are you alright?" Jackie pulled her chair closer to Rose's as they waited for Mickey. He was standing in line to buy pizza while the other two went to find a table.

"I'm fine, Mum. Really I am," Rose tried to sound confident, but her voice was weaker than she meant it to sound.

"I don't believe that for a second. How thick do you think I am?" Behind the joke, Jackie was concerned for her daughter. She was usually a bubbly, energetic girl, but today Rose was entirely lackluster. An idea occurred to Jackie, and she gripped her daughter's wrist tightly.

"It's the Doctor, isn't it? He's not been treating you wrong, has he? What's he done to you? If he's gone and— If he— I'll kill him!" Jackie was working herself into a fury. This caught Rose's attention, and she rushed to soothe her mother.

"No! No, Mum, it's nothing like that. Really! I'm fine! Just, it's odd havin' him completely leave me out of somethin' like this," Rose's explanation turned into a stream of words, completely bypassing the mind-to-mouth filter, "I thought we'd worked this out. He and I, we were a team, an' now he thinks he's got to protect me or something. They're just kids! I've faced Slitheen, a Dalek, gas-masked zombies, all kinds of stuff! But normal teenagers? Oh, no. They're far too dangerous for little ol' me!"

"Well, ya never know!" Mickey slid a steaming pizza onto the table and dropped into a chair on Rose's other side. "They might be another kind of outer space beastie, just waitin' to gobble you up."

"But they're not," Rose insisted, "They're just kids. Completely human," She turned to gaze out a window across the room, looking in the direction the Doctor had gone. A sigh escaped her lips, and she began to drum her fingers on the table absently. _Dum-da-da-dum… Dum-da-da-dum…_

"Look, if it's really bugging you that much, sweetheart, we can go and find him. He can't've gone far. An' even if he has, he wouldn't leave without you," Jackie hugged Rose gently with one arm, and started to stand up, but Mickey pulled her back down.

"We should at least eat this first," he gestured towards the pizza, lying untouched in the center of their table.

"Mickey's right, mum. Let's eat. I'm absolutely starving," Rose smiled halfheartedly and pulled a slice onto her plate. Jackie sighed, but reached to nab a slice of her own. The self-satisfied smile that materialized on Mickey's face as he munched his own piece of pizza made Rose giggle quietly to herself.

Twenty silent minutes later, Rose and her companions began to trek back towards the center of town. When the TARDlS finally entered their line of sight, Rose broke out into a trot. She beckoned to her mother and Mickey to follow, and she did, but Mickey stopped walking altogether. None of them had, as of yet, glimpsed the cluster of people on the opposite side of the blue box.

"No. I'm not goin' no further," he announced, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm sick of waitin' around for you, an' when I've finally got you for a bit, you just can't wait to go runnin' back to him! I'm not gonna do it! That's it!"

Rose knew better than to take him too seriously, but for his sake she put on a slightly confused and very concerned expression as she walked back to where he stood. It was so hard to take him seriously sometimes.

"It's not gonna work this time," Mickey uncrossed his arms and began to step backwards slowly as Rose approached him. "Nuh-uh. I'm done wastin' my time," His voice waivered as she reached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, babe," Rose's visage became solemn, and she looked at her faintly glowing neon shoes. "I don't mean to, really I don't. It's just so excitin', all we get to see. I get kind of caught up sometimes," She met his eyes, and smiled.

"Well, that's great for you, but what about me? I'm tired of…" the rest of his sentence died before he could finish as Rose kissed him on the cheek, then on the lips. They were just quick little kisses, but they were enough to make him smile and blush a bit. He promptly began staring at the sidewalk, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Let's go, a'ight?" Rose pulled one of Mickey's hands out of his pocket, and as she expected, he began to trudge alongside her.

"Yeah… I guess…" Reluctantly, he trailed after Rose, still holding her hand. They drew level with Jackie, and, together they resumed tromping towards the TARDIS. All three stopped in their tracks when they heard voices. Rose recognized the Doctor's voice, but the others were unfamiliar to her.

"Jack? What would he want with the Doctor?" one of the unfamiliar voices asked. The voice was female, and slightly deeper than Rose's. Probably belonging to someone close to her own age, or maybe a little older. "How will you get in touch with 'im anyway? It's not like you can just ring 'im up and tell him to meet you at the pub in ten or somethin'."

"Wait, who's Jack?" another strange voice asked, this one female as well, but more childlike.

"Hush, Katie," a young male voice silenced the girl.

"Why don't we all just wave goodbye and go along our merry ways?" The three recognized the Doctors voice. It took her a moment, but Rose realized the Doctor's wasn't the only voice she knew.

An enormous, silly grin spread across Oliver's face as Rose stepped around the side of the TARDlS. Katie elbowed him in the ribs playfully. To his disappointment, Rose just threw him a glance as she strode up to her large-eared friend.

"So what's goin' on here, ay?" She addressed Daniel, leaning against the navy-colored wooden doors behind her.

Daniel tried his best to be cool, but with little success. "Just talking to your friend here. I'm Daniel. Daniel Bethe." After wiping his slightly sweaty palm on his jeans, he extended a hand, which Rose shook.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Bethe. I'm-" she started to introduce herself.

"Rose Tyler," Daniel finished for her, "and it's Daniel, none of this 'Mr. Bethe' business. Or Dan, or Danny, or anything, really. I'd even respond to 'Hey you!' if you forgot my name or something, or—"

"Shut up, love. You're babbling again," Hannah nudged Daniel lightly with an elbow. It was clear he was incredibly nervous. At her touch, however, a bit of Daniel's tension seemed to evaporate and he smiled slightly.

It seemed odd to Rose that this Daniel person knew who she was, but she was more distracted by the sight of her mother stepping quietly around the TARDIS.

"Rose? What's goin' on here? Who is this… _dashing_ young man?" Her need for silence gone, Jackie strode up to stand next to Rose, and she winked at Daniel as she spoke. Mickey followed Jackie, but stood a few feet back, his hands happily in the depths of his pockets.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor interrupted, "We're just going to pop into the TARDlS for a bit. Take you home, eh?"

"Can we come with you?" Katie ran up to Rose and took hold of her sleeve.

"Nope! Sorry!" came the Doctor's reply, though the question was really addressed to Rose. He turned and unlocked the navy front doors and gestured for Jackie to go inside. With one last flirtatious smile towards Daniel, she complied and slipped through the doors. Mickey shuffled forward and followed Jackie, hands still in his pockets.

"You'll be alright here, won't you?" One foot already through the door, the Doctor turned to face Rose. "I'm just going to run off to your time, drop Ricky and your mum off, and I'll be back."

"It's Mickey, Big Ears!" Mickey yelled from inside the TARDIS.

"Whatever," The Doctor hollered back. He then turned back to Rose, and looked at her expectantly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Rose mumbled. She didn't like that he was leaving her behind again, but what could she do?

"Bye darling!" Jackie's voice came from inside the TARDIS. "Lovely to see you! Come home soon!"

The navy front doors slammed, and Rose waved feebly at the disappearing blue box. She was slightly startled when an intensely pale arm wrapped across her shoulders in a small hug.

"He'll be back," Hannah assured her. "He really loves you, you know." Rose gave her a weak smile in thanks.

"Wow, Hannah, I'm impressed," Oliver scoffed. He was blatantly jealous of Hannah's being near Rose. "That's the first remotely insightful thing I've ever heard you say."

Hannah's simple reply was to turn on her heel and give Oliver a well-placed slap across the face.


	9. Chapter 9

"Oi!" Oliver rubbed his now pink cheek gingerly. "What was that for?!"

"You deserved it, mate," Daniel patted his friend on the shoulder.

Her arm still around Rose's shoulders, Hannah guided her to a bench, where, upon sitting down, found Rose's blonde head resting on her shoulder. She was a little unsure to comfort someone in Rose's situation, and settled on patting the brightly colored knee next to her jean-clad ones.

Katie, on the other hand, was at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from Rose. She stamped her foot, crossed her arms across her chest, and stormed off in a huff. Still rubbing his cheek, Oliver chased after her, and, followed by Daniel, dragged her over to stand near the two on the bench.

"What's so special about you, huh? How come you get to hang around with that big-eared bloke?! You're just an ordinary blonde ch—" Katie had wrenched her arm out of her brother's grasp, and she prodded Rose in the shoulder repeatedly as she began to yell. Luckily, the hand Oliver clapped over her mouth served to muffled the stream of accusations.

"So… What shall we do now? There's no use contacting Jack until the Doctor comes back," Daniel sank down onto the bench on Hannah's other side and kissed her gently on the cheek.

At the mention of Jack's name, Rose looked up into Daniel's face. Her now blotchy face brightened a bit, and she sat up a bit straighter.

"Jack? You don't mean Jack Harkness, do you?" she asked.

"Yeah. That's 'im. How'd you know?" The surprise and curiosity in Daniel's voice was nearly palpable.

"Let's go," Rose stood up and turned to face a still slightly stunned Daniel, who rose silently. He extended a hand to Hannah, who accepted it but still managed to fall into him a bit. Daniel chuckled quietly and ruffled her sandy blonde hair. Rose looked on, fighting the urge to slap the pair of them. Oliver threw a sympathetic glance towards her, rousing a tiny smile from the still slightly sulky blonde. Katie, bored with the situation, plunked herself down in Rose's now vacated spot on the bench and let out a huge sigh.

Katie's sigh having roused them from couple-land, Daniel and Hannah shook themselves back to reality. They smiled awkwardly, glanced at each other, and giggled. Daniel cleared his throat.

"Right. So. Jack. Err… Shall we?" He offered his elbow to Hannah, to which she cheerily linked up, and the pack set off in the direction of Torchwood Tower. Oliver tried to offer his elbow to Katie, but she just scoffed at the gesture and set off behind Daniel.

--- --- --- --- ---

A few moments later, the TARDIS rematerialized a few feet from the bench Rose had been sitting on not five minutes earlier.

"Alright folks, now let's sort this all—" The Doctor started as he stepped out of the TARDIS, but he stopped speaking when he noticed his lack of an audience. Looking around, he let out a sigh.

"Every time. Every bloody time I tell them not to wander off. I say, 'Don't wander off, you might get into trouble.' I tell them, but what do they go and do? They wander off, of course! Why listen to the Doctor, anyway? He clearly never knows what the hell he's on about anyway! Why don't they ever listen, ay?!" he mumbled to himself as he paced around in front of the TARDIS.

As he walked around its corner, he managed to catch a glimpse of a flamboyantly dressed figure hanging a left a few streets up. Who else would be decked out in a day-glo rainbow? The Doctor locked the TARDIS and dashed after Rose.

--- --- --- --- ---

"Are we almost there?" Katie whined as she trudged after Oliver. "Dan, you said this was in downtown."

"I didn't say that," Daniel replied, "and we _are_ almost there. Just a few more minutes." Katie let out a heavy sigh and leaned on Oliver as she walked.

"Ollie, I'm tired. Will you carry me? Please? Pleasey-please?" Oliver rolled his eyes at the detested sobriquet, but bent down so Katie could climb up on his back.

"Well since you asked so nicely…" he said under his breath as Katie clambered aboard.

Rose glanced around nervously, hoping to catch a glimpse the Doctor running after them with a scolding at the ready. Seeing no one, she sighed and resumed walking.

Once the Doctor could see Rose and the others, he kept his distance. There must've been a reason they'd left without him, and he wanted to see what it was. He skulked along behind them until the herd of humans finally reached Roald Dahl Plass. Shaking his head and smiling slightly to himself, the Doctor stepped into the square and leaned against a dark building as Daniel circled a tall, mirrored, rather intimidating structure and gestured to the group to follow him.

The Doctor didn't pursue, but watched as Daniel slipped through the entrance of a shabby little building labeled "Tourist Information Centre." Rose, Hannah, Oliver, and Katie clustered outside. Daniel reappeared a minute or two later and the reunited group resumed waiting. Rose began to chat with Oliver as they stood by the shack.

As the humans stood waiting, the Doctor happened to notice a block of the sidewalk sinking into the ground. Curious, he walked towards the panel and as he approached, a figure began to emerge from the hole in the cement. The Doctor stopped in his tracks and watched as the dark-haired, dark-clothed, dark grey wool coat-wearing form of Jack Harkness rose fifteen feet in front of him. Once the sidewalk panel he stood on laid flesh with the rest of the street, Jack stepped into the street, pressed a button on his earpiece, and looked around, talking to someone on the other end of his connection. When he caught sight of the Doctor, he stopped talking mid-sentence, his hand dropping from the earpiece.

"No," Jack breathed as he took a step back. _'After all this time, could it really be him?'_ He thought to himself, pausing for a moment to confirm the identity of someone he never thought he'd lay eyes on again. An enormous grin spread across the American's face and his voice gained volume. "Doctor! It's good to see you!"


End file.
